"Who are you from Wu Family Fort?" Ling Yi ignored the foolish Xiang Shaolong and his group, and instead asked the middle-aged man.
"My name is Tao Fang, the steward of Wu Family Fort. This is my young lady, Wu Tingfang, the daughter of the fort master of Wu Family Fort. Thank you for your righteous rescue; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
Tao Fang said with lingering fear.
Wu Tingfang, who was standing nearby, stopped making a fuss. Her face was a little pale. Those bandits had wanted to consummate their marriage with her tonight. If she hadn't been rescued, her fate would have been unimaginable.
"So, it's you who will escort the Heirloom Seal of He back to the State of Zhao this time?" Ling Yi asked again.
"Yes, you've also come for the Heirloom Seal of He?" Tao Fang asked, frowning.
Ling Yi tossed the Heirloom Seal of He to Tao Fang, coldly saying, "I was only curious about the Heirloom Seal of He. Now that I've seen it, it's of no use to me anymore."
Tao Fang hurriedly caught the wooden box containing the Heirloom Seal of He, opened it to check it, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you very much. This Heirloom Seal of He is extremely important to my Wu Family Fort. If it were lost this time, I'm afraid the lives of thousands of people in Wu Family Fort would be affected." Tao Fang bowed solemnly to Ling Yi to express his gratitude.
"Such an important matter Heirloom Seal of He must have been extremely secretive, and this group of bandits is clearly after the Heirloom Seal of He. It seems that someone in your Wu Family Fort has leaked the secret," Shan Rou said from the side.
Tao Fang nodded, "This matter is known only to me and the young lady. I would never leak it, otherwise the lord of the fortress wouldn't have entrusted me with such an important matter, young lady..."
At this point, Tao Fang seemed to have thought of something and frowned.
"Steward Tao, what do you mean? Do you suspect that I leaked the secret?" Wu Tingfang said angrily.
"Young Miss, Tao Fang wouldn't dare. But, I wonder if you've told Lian Jin about this?"
"I... Brother Lian Jin asked casually at the time, and I said a few words, but I believe Brother Lian Jin would never do such a thing."
"Young Miss, Lian Jin is a retainer of Zhao Mu. Our Wu Family Fort has always been at odds with Zhao Mu, and this matter..."
"Steward Tao, I absolutely believe in Brother Lian Jin!"
"Tsk tsk, what a brainless woman. It's obvious you leaked the information to that Lian Jin. Dozens of people died because of your leak. It seems that Lian Jin must be Little White." Xiang Shaolong said sarcastically.
"Silver Thief, don't slander Brother Lian Jin! He has always been loyal to my Wu Family Fort, and he would never do such a thing!" Wu Tingfang shouted angrily, her face pale.
"Alright, whether it's true or not, we'll soon have a result," Ling Yi said in a deep voice.
"Brother Ling Yi, do you mean that Lian Jin will come Heirloom Seal of He?" Tao Fang quickly reacted and asked.
Ling Yi nodded.
"This is troublesome. Lian Jin is the number one swordsman in State of Zhao, extremely powerful. We... are afraid we are no match for him."
"Is Brother Lian Jin coming?" Wu Tingfang asked with delight.
After she said that, everyone looked at her as if she were a fool.
Xiang Shaolong shook his head Taunt, "She's truly hopeless. If he comes, wouldn't that prove that all of this was his arrangement? Women in love really do have negative IQs."
Wu Tingfang also realized what was happening and was speechless.
It's not that Wu Tingfang was truly brain-dead, but rather that people in love naturally tend to have somewhat biased views.
Just then, a Taunt voice rang out from outside the door.
"He's all talk and no action, he can't even handle this little thing."
As the words fell, Lian Jin, dressed in white and incredibly handsome, walked into the hall.
"Brother Lian Jin, you..."
" Fang'er, Wu Family Fort will eventually submit to Marquis of Julu. At that time, the Marquis and the Fortress Master Wu will be one family, and no one will object to our affairs anymore."
"So, all those sweet words you used before were just lies to deceive me?" Wu Tingfang staggered a few steps and said coldly.
Even when she's blinded by love, she still has her own bottom line.
This time, dozens of people died in Wu Family Fort, all because of her trust in the man in front of her.
This filled her with immense self-blame, turning her love into hatred in the blink of an eye.
" Fang'er, believe me, my feelings for you are genuine. We can talk about our relationship later; let me deal with these good-for-nothings first."
Lian Jin strode forward with an air of indifference, drew his longsword, and without even glancing at Ling Yi and the others, went straight to the bearded man and beheaded him with a single stroke.
"How dare they touch Fang'er! They deserve to die!"
Then, with a confident smile on his lips, he looked at Tao Fang.
"Steward Tao, hand over the Heirloom Seal of He. For Fang'er's sake, I might grant you a quick death."
" Lian Jin, Zhao Mu is not worthy of your loyalty."
"Do I need you to teach me how to do things? The Marquis has given me wealth and honor, and I treat him like a confidant. A scholar will die for one who understands him. Don't resist pointlessly, hand over the Heirloom Seal of He."
Lian Jin pointed his longsword at Tao Fang and said coldly.
At this moment, Xiang Shaolong said to Ling Yi, "Big brother, he's Ignore you like this, aren't you angry?"
"..."
Ling Yi was indeed very annoyed; Lian Jin was just too good at putting on an act.
So Ling Yi didn't say a word, but stepped down from the main seat and walked step by step toward Lian Jin.
Lian Jin looked at Ling Yi as he approached and sneered disdainfully. Extremely confident, he had never taken these people seriously.
He brandished his gleaming silver sword, slashing out with a swift motion, aiming straight for Ling Yi's throat.
But the next moment, Lian Jin suddenly felt a dazzling light flash by, his right arm felt lighter, and the next moment, a piercing pain came. With a horrified look in his eyes, he watched as his right arm, which was holding the sword, was detached from his body and fell to the ground.
Ling Yi flicked the hilt of the sword with his toe, and the longsword separated from Lian Jin's severed arm, flying up from the ground and being caught by Ling Yi.
He flicked the blade with his finger and exclaimed, "A fine sword! It just so happens I don't have a suitable weapon at hand."
Ling Yi glanced at Lian Jin, whose face was deathly pale, Taunt, "The number one swordsman? Heh!"
"Who are you?" Lian Jin asked through gritted teeth.
As a swordsman, he knew very well what losing his right arm meant.
From this moment on, he is essentially a cripple, unless, as in the original story, he unexpectedly encounters the madman-like left-handed sword demon Lao Ai and East Mountain.
Ling Yi didn't want to kill Lian Jin; perhaps this guy would give him another chance to advance the plot later.
Just as Ling Yi was considering what reason to use to let Lian Jin go, Wu Tingfang stepped in front of Lian Jin.
"Let him go, he's already a cripple." Wu Tingfang couldn't bear to see Lian Jin die before her eyes and couldn't help but plead for him.
"Why should I?" Ling Yi's goodwill towards this woman dropped again, and he asked coldly.
"I'll agree to any condition as long as you let him go."
Looking at Wu Tingfang's determined gaze, Ling Yi was momentarily at a loss for words to describe this woman.
Ling Yi, who had originally intended to say something Taunt, swallowed his words after seeing the tears in Wu Tingfang's eyes.
"Remember your words!" Ling Yi said, turning and leaving. As he walked, he kicked one of the seemingly foolish bandits and said, "Get those who were pretending to be dead up. Prepare a few rooms for us; we'll be staying here tonight. Also, prepare some food."
"Okay, okay!"
This man followed suit, kicking several bandits awake and leading them out to do their work.
Lian Jin picked up his fallen arm, glared at Ling Yi with hatred, and staggered away.
Wu Tingfang kept watching Lian Jin's departing figure until he was completely out of sight, then her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Tao Fang helped Wu Tingfang up and placed her on a deerskin cushion beside him before addressing the crowd. "Our young lady is not a bad person. She is usually very kind to people. She was only deceived by Lian Jin."
"Brother Ling Yi, thank you very much for this. Once I return to Wu Family Fort and report to the master, I will surely reward you handsomely."
"No need, it was just a coincidence!" Ling Yi shook his head and said.
"Where are you headed next?" Tao Fang asked again.
Handan City!
"That's wonderful. I have a favor to ask. Although we're not far from Handan City, I'm worried about what might happen next."
"The Heirloom Seal of He is of extraordinary significance, so I would be grateful if Brother Ling Yi could escort my young lady and me back to Wu Family Fort."
"Okay!" Ling Yi nodded, then glanced at Shan Rou, turned and walked out.
Shan Rou instantly understood and walked towards Tao Fang with a smile.
"Manager Tao..."
The next day, the group packed up and left Camel Hump Mountain, heading straight for Wu Family Fort.
Wu Family Fort, located fifteen li north of Handan City, is a huge horse ranch.
"Our Wu Family Fort alone has nearly ten thousand warhorses; all the warhorses of the State of Zhao come from Wu Family Fort."
"Our master was thus highly regarded by the Prince Zhao."
"If Brother Ling Yi doesn't mind, you might as well stay at Wu Family Fort for a while. There's only a month left until the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) tournament, when all the princes and nobles will be there. It'll be quite a lively event."
Tao Fang enthusiastically introduced Wu Family Fort to Ling Yi, his words implying a recruitment effort.
Ling Yi remained silent, only nodding occasionally, maintaining his air of profound mystery.
At this moment, Shan Rou suddenly interjected, "Steward Tao, have you forgotten the conditions you agreed to last night?"
"Haha, Miss Shan Rou, how could I forget? But it doesn't matter where you live, living in my Wu Family Fort is the same."
"It's good to stay at Wu Family Fort for the time being. Perhaps we can even cooperate with Fortress Master Wu," Ling Yi said.
Upon hearing this, Shan Rou fell silent, knowing that Ling Yi must already have a plan in mind.
Xiang Shaolong asked curiously, "What is Cuju?"
"Brother Xiang, you don't even know what Cuju (ancient Chinese football) is?"
"Brother Tao, why do I absolutely need to know what Cuju is?"
Tao Fang was momentarily speechless at Xiang Shaolong's words, coughing before continuing, "Cuju is made with cotton stuffing inside and cowhide wrapping... Each side has five or eight players who attack each other. Whoever kicks the cuju ball into the eye of the target wins..."
"Hey, isn't this just a football? I can't speak for everything else, but I'm an expert on football."
"You shameless scoundrel, you don't even know what Cuju is, yet you spout Westward Journey," Wu Tingfang Taunt.
"Hey, aren't you going too far by calling me a thief? Do you believe I'll really swindle you?"
"As expected, you can't expect anything good to come out of a mouth like that. If it weren't for Brother Ling Yi's sake, I would have given you a real lesson."
Just then, a cavalry suddenly appeared ahead, led by Wu Yingyuan, the lord of Wu Family Fort. From afar, Wu Yingyuan stopped his cavalry, dismounted, and waited with a smile for Ling Yi and the others to approach...